


Isn’t it strange

by Emilia206 (orphan_account)



Category: Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins, Suzanne Collins - Fandom, The Hunger Games, The Hunger Games (Movies)
Genre: F/F, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-15
Updated: 2020-08-16
Packaged: 2021-03-06 02:54:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,353
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25906180
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/Emilia206
Summary: So I came up with this hunger games fan fic on the drive back from Germany, and it's based of this song called Strange by Celeste. Basically Peeta finds a new girl after Katniss freaks out because things are going too fast. She tells him she can't be what he needs her to be, and he needs to move on. So he does. As the song says: from strangers to friends, friends into lovers, and strangers again...It also contains a side story of Johanna finding meaning in her life again. It's told from multiple points of view. Enjoy!
Relationships: everlark - Relationship
Comments: 2
Kudos: 8





	1. Alone

Johanna POV: 

So, this is what it all summed up to. Everything I gave, everything I sacrificed. And I'm left to sit alone in my living room, accompanied only by the ghosts of loved ones long gone. All of my suffering has led me to this grand finale of utter bullshit. I flick listlessly through the endless channels on TV. Nothing to do, nowhere to go. 

When I first came back here three months ago they promised regular therapy sessions over the phone. At first I picked up, but I soon realised that there was no point, there was no one, and nothing to get better for. Dr Morrins helped me realise that, unintentionally of course. A decent man if I'm honest, knew his shit. A lot better then that crack case I had back in 13, who told me 'everything would all be OK,' little fuck. No, Dr Morrins didn't spout bullshit all the time, and was able to get me to talk just enough to prescribe me with some medication. After that I stopped picking up. The calls don't come as regularly now, when it rings it sounds more like an afterthought. Like the doctor just remembered that he was actually still supposed to be treating a psycho victor from District 7. 

After Katniss did her little stunt, everything went to shit. Maybe I would've been treated with more attentiveness if it weren't for her. Not that I care. I was left in my little hospital room, with only a nurse and an occasional psychiatrist coming in to check up on me. When they finally cleared her case, they remembered that they had another little nut job waiting to be sent home. But no. I was considered too much of a risk to myself and others, which was true, so I had to stay for another two months. I would sometimes hear another doctor, who I think was assigned to Katniss and Peeta, saying that she was still mute, but was slowly reacting to treatment. I heard that statement enough times, to know that it was a blatant lie. Sometimes I think I might call her, see how she's doing. I already know the answer, shit like the rest of us. I still wonder though.

Katniss POV: 

Three months had passed since he had come home. At first there had been some awkwardness, but we soon regained our easy friendship that was sustained mostly by Peeta's persistence to make sure I stayed alive. I was doing better for a while, we were doing better together. We had even started sleeping in the same bed again. But we were moving too fast. I had tried to tell myself it was all OK, that it was Peeta, that I had nothing to worry about, that the boy with the bread had finally come home to me. Maybe if I had of talked things through with Dr Aurelius, like I was supposed to, things would of gone differently.

So here I sit, all alone. Again. There is no one and nothing to blame but myself this time around. I stare into the fire, trying to figure out why I had to destroy everything good I had ever had. Why I had to push away the people that I cared about, that cared about me. Why every time I did show love it was taken from me and burned to charred bits of nothing right in front of my eyes. I gagged at the memory of her... Maybe it was better that I be alone. If I had no one, then I couldn't hurt them.

The unfamiliar sound of laughter rings across the village. Female laughter. Maeve's laughter. I can't blame Peeta for finding her. I told him to. That I couldn't give him what he needed, was obvious to the both of us. So I told him to go. To go find someone who could. And he did, of course he did. And of course she was everything that I wasn't. She was charming, nice, pretty. And she didn't come with any emotional trauma, or scars that reminded him everyday of what he had lost. At first things went on as they had, when we had still been just friends. Breakfast and dinner with the addition of Maeve. The dinners soon stopped though. And then so did the breakfasts. It's no wonder though, I didn't speak to anyone through those meals. And on the rare occasion of Haymitch eating with us he stayed just as mute as me. Grunting only when directly asked a question. So soon enough, Sae became my only visitor again. Interactions with Peeta were rare, besides me giving them fresh game.To say that I was jealous of what they had, of what I could of had, was the truth. I was predictably myself though when it came to dealing with that emotion, I ignored it. As well as every other emotion in the book. Sometimes I would feel rage and feel the urge to throw things around, but the feeling was fleeting. Guilt was a constant companion, but honestly I enjoyed it's company. It reminded me of why I stayed away from people. I saw myself as a ticking time bomb. And when I did eventually blow under everything I was pushing away from me, I wanted it to be final. Not yet though. For now I was OK. I went hunting regularly again, and without a fail I went up onto the roof of my house every morning to watch the sun rise over the dewey forest. Even on cloudier days it never failed to impress. It made me feel glowing and alive. And on rare occasions; beautiful.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed the first part of this story. Please leave comments on what you think.


	2. A bridge built

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don’t expect daily updates all the time... I was just feeling inspired and had to get it down 😆   
> Hope you enjoyed!

Johanna POV:

I hadn't even been aware of the month it was until right now. I was flicking through the TV channels, as I often did, but soon came to the conclusion that the same thing was being shown on just about every channel. Each news broadcast, every TV show was asking the same question. How were the districts and the Capitol going to pay respect to the dead children who were reaped for the games? That's not how they said it obviously, they used lots of big words and went round in circles until getting to the point. It was going to be June next week. And on the 21st of June was the reaping. It still stuck out like a big ugly sore on my calendar. Probably on everyones. The 21st of June, the start of my battle. A battle I was still fighting, and still losing. The 21st of June the first day I lost. And from that day, losing myself, and everything I had held dear to me, was only natural. That was the day it had begun. Panic started to rise in the depths of me, the irrational fear that I would have to go back in. That I would have to leave again. That I would lose something I didn't even have anymore. The will to live.

I found myself in the unlucky situation of needing to talk to someone. I didn't want to talk to Dr Morrins though, he would be logical about it, and make me feel stupid for thinking such things. I needed to talk to the only person who I knew could possibly be going through the same thing. So I did the thing that I had thought of doing for months. I picked up the phone and dialled Katniss Everdeens’ number.  
————————————————————————

Katniss POV:

Everything about today felt different. I slept with fewer nightmares, and had woken up to the sound of my alarm clock instead of my own screams. Climbing onto the roof from the tree outside my window wasn't such hard work as usual, I felt lighter, less weighed down by the tragedy of my life. The sunrise was magnificent. I watched as it rose up through a valley, spreading its little tendrils of light across the woods, eventually finding district 12. The colours varying from yellow to pink to orange to blue. I had never really payed attention to colours until Peeta. There was something about watching the sky change from a faded dark grey, to vibrant yellows and pinks that made me want to get up the next morning to do it all again. 

By the time I had showered and changed, I felt that today might be a good day. These didn't happen very often and I wanted to enjoy it. As I walked into the kitchen I was still thinking about how I would spend the day in the woods, hunting and foraging, and just being. As I started to think up where I would go, I took a look at my surroundings, and stopped short when I saw Peeta sitting at the table. What was he doing here? And where was Sae? Looking at the table I saw two loaves of bread, and two plates with bacon and eggs on them. I looked at Peeta, who had been watching me. Our eyes met, and I raised my eyebrows to indicate my confusion. 

"Maeve's gone to visit her sister in eight for a few days." He offered as an explanation.

I didn't care where Maeve was, sure we spoke to each other, but we didn't really have a lot in common. What I wanted to know was why Peeta was sitting in my kitchen putting a slice of bread on my plate. 

"What are you doing here?" I asked before I could stop myself.

He turned to look at me and said, "Eating breakfast." He smiled. I looked into those brilliant blue eyes, and felt my icy exterior begin to melt. 

Slowly I took a seat and started nibbling at the bread. It was still warm, and tasted like nuts. Like clockwork, Buttercup jumped up onto the table and started mewling at me. Where I once would of picked him up by the scruff of his mangy neck, and kicked him out the window, I now fed him pieces of bacon before gently placing him back down on the ground. He was all I had left of her, and I'd be dammed if I let him starve. Looking up I saw Peeta watching me intently again. It made me feel uncomfortable, so I just looked down at my plate and continued eating. 

Breakfast passed with little talk. Though he tried to converse with me, I wasn't in the mood. I still had no idea why he was in my kitchen watching me feed bacon and eggs to a cat. 

I was still quietly nibbling on some bread when I heard the phone ring from the hallway. I had picked up the habit of ignoring the telephone again, so the shrill ringing sound didn’t bother me. Peeta cleared his throat as if to see if I heard the phone too. I ignored that as well. When it rang again and I still didn't move, Peeta got up and picked up the phone himself. He was quiet for a while, before poking his head round the kitchen door and indicating that it was for me. His blond curls bounced as he disappeared round the corner again. I was transfixed with them for a moment, spun pieces of pure sunshine, I thought to myself. Peeta Mellark, the boy with the bread, the only person who still cared about me. Or had cared about me. I didn't think he spent much time thinking about me anymore. Why would he? He had Maeve now. Reliable old Maeve, who had left her love to visit her sister in eight. 

As I took the phone from him, I thought it could only be Dr Aurelius, so when I said  
"Good morning doctor." I jumped when I heard Johannas voice crackle down the phone, telling me to turn on the television. I heard the front door click quietly. He had gone home.

————————————————————————

Within moments my day was ruined, all prospects of going to the woods vanished. Phone still in hand I whispered into the receiver, "I forgot that that day was coming up." As I thought about that day, all I could bring myself to remember was a little blonde girl walking up to the stage with her ducktail hanging out. I choked on my grief, my little blonde duck, scattered to the four winds. 

As I sat down on the sofa, my whole being starting to tremble. I had been preparing to die protecting Peeta just a year ago, and now I could barely look at him without getting queasy. The Capitol thought too highly of my mental state if they thought I would see this holiday as anything other than a day that had sent children to their lonely deaths.

"What are they going to do?" I asked. 

"I don't know, I hope they don't make us stand up on stage or anything." She replied.

As she said it, it dawned on me that some sick individuals in the Capitol might be planning just that. An animalistic fear started to build inside me and I knew if I didn't focus on something else I would become a trembling heap of limbs for the rest of the day. 

"Please let's not talk about it," I said, "I don't want to be afraid anymore."

I could hear Johanna sigh sadly down the phone, "I know just what you mean. It’s never easy, not being afraid.”

The next couple of hours were spent with me and Johanna chatting on the phone, we soon resumed our normal attitudes towards each other, and the sadness and dread we had shared earlier in the day evaporated. We were talking about my mother when I heard loud banging and smashing drift into the open living room window. I knew what was happening without even having to think about it. I jumped up and called into the receiver, “Jo, I’m really sorry but I have to go!” 

Without even waiting for her to reply I hung up the phone, pulled on my boots and ran out the door.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed the first part of this story, I really appreciate you reading. Pls feel free to comment. I will be updating this as soon as I can.


End file.
